(Sioux City)– The former director of what was known as the BASS, or the Before and After School Services Program, has been sentenced in U.S District Court for filing a false individual tax return for the 2004 calendar year.
A news release from the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division says Margaret “Meg” Waltz was sentenced Monday to 15 months in prison along with one year of supervised release. She was also ordered to make restitution of $52,530 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Waltz was also ordered to cooperate with the Internal Revenue Service in the determination, assessment and payment for any tax liability she may have for the calendar years 2002, 2003 and 2004.
She must also pay a $100 special assessment.
Waltz’ sentence will be served concurrently with the sentence she is currently serving in Dickinson County District Court.
According to federal court documents, Waltz repeatedly wrote checks directly to herself from the BASS operating account totaling $107,968 from 2002 through 2004. She made additional payments to herself in 2000 and 2001 in the amount of $58,400. Court documents say some of those funds were used for family vacations to Mexico and the Virgin Islands and for the purchase of a Chevrolet Avalanche.
According to the federal plea agreement, Waltz pled guilty to knowingly and willfully submitting a false federal income tax return with the IRS for the 2004 calendar year, that she knew materially and falsely understated her income because she did not include atleast $67,612 in benefits she received from BASS’s operating account.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Berry on behalf of the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Iowa. It was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.
